The Way Up represents, in the words of guitarist Pat Metheny himself, "our most ambitious undertaking ever as a group"-a single, brilliant 68-minute piece composed by Metheny and his collaborator of 28 years, Lyle Mays. Metheny has likened the creation of The Way Up to making a film, and in some respects, the album feels like a vividly rendered journey, its moods shifting like scenes glimpsed from a fast-moving vehicle.
Definitly, one of their more melodic offerings. With bassist Steve Rodby, Mexican drummer Antonio Sanchez, Vietnamese trumpeter Coung Vu, and the Swiss-born harmonica virtuoso Gregoire Maret, they never fail to exite and entrance
http://www.patmethenygroup.com/Musically, while arguably the broadest in reach of any Metheny Group record, it still exhibits all their signature characteristics: cinematic scope, evocative melodies, telepathic improvisational interplay and the broadest of sonics. Metheny, always one to use a wide array of guitars, outdoes himself this time with, quite possibly, more layered instruments than on any previous recording. From acoustic guitars to guitar synthesizer to warm electric tones, overdriven rock-inflections and even slide guitar, Metheny creates a virtual guitar orchestra; and yet, as thick as the layers become, every instrument has its place and nothing is superfluous. As always, Mays also layers a variety of keyboard textures, and this time around, in addition to acoustic and electric basses, Rodby adds celli to the sonic mix. The real question, after hearing the disk, is how they'll be able to recreate the rich audioscape of the piece in concert, even with the addition of multi-instrumentalist Nando Lauria to the touring band that hits the road in February of this year.-John Kelman,AllAboutJazz
Not only did the process resemble movie production, but the end result is possibly the group's most grand, cinematic effort to date. While the collaborators certainly deserve an enormous amount of credit for the remarkable work, Metheny is quick to share the praise with the other members of the sextet. The remaining veteran member of the group is bassist, Steve Rodby. With great admiration, Metheny describes, "On so many levels, Steve's presence is that of organizer. He helps not only from the playing standpoint, but his role in the production of the records is absolutely gigantic and so important to how it all comes together."Dean Truitt
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